A Moment too Late
by JJoseph
Summary: Sometimes the difference between life and death is a moment's pause, or its absence. Alternate ending to Noir.


The melody, the melody that she heard so often rang in Kirika's ears. The past few days ran through her mind like a dream, and she awoke with a daze. She felt a gun on her throat.

"Mireille."

Kirika's eyes drew upwards to see Mireille's face, smiling.

"Kirika."

Mireille's face grew flush. Beads of sweat pooled across as her eyes faded, and she fell over.

The melody stopped. Mireille was dead.

"Mireille. Mireille!" Kirika shouted as she attempted to shake life into her more quickly than it faded. For her efforts she received nothing.

"Kirika." Another voice stabbed into her back. It took a moment for Kirika to recognize it.

Kirika tensed and froze as Chloe's right hand rested on her shoulder. Her other hand moved Mireille's gun out of the way to wrap her arm around Kirika's neck and chest. Kirika brought Chloe's hand to her lips and began to cry.

Her clothing was stained with blood, Mireille's blood, as she tried to hold Mireille's body, to absorb the last of her warmth, but it faded, Mireille grew cold, and Kirika's chest hurt as it pressed into the knife.

Kirika's eyes widened for just a moment, and her fingers started caressing the knife. She felt for a moment she'd read something similar to this a long time ago, something about poison and a dagger, where one lover took her life.

It took more than a moment. Every time Kirika attempted to remove the knife she faltered. She'd always felt strong, and until recently, invincible, but it was as though this knife, with every attempt to remove it, was already lodged within Kirika's chest. She persevered.

With this knife in her hand, the decision was slow, and uncertain. It was strange, that whenever she wished to kill someone, she gauged what would be the quickest way to end their lives, usually to the heart or skull. But she wasn't sure she wanted to end it quickly. That she, after all this time, deserved a quick death, was inconceivable.

A drop of blood fell from Kirika's hand. She was gripping the knife. It hurt, and it brought her back to reality.

"Kirika."

A chill ran through her spine, ending at her fingers, and she faltered.

"Mireille?"

Warmth and pressure spread from Kirika's shoulders, and to her chest. She was pulled backwards, the knife wrested from her grip, and turned.

"Chloe," she responded, crestfallen.

Her smile was solemn, and her eyes dry. She wrapped her arms around Kirika's back, and had Kirika's chin rest on her shoulder.

A warmth pulsed through Kirika's heart, and her pain renewed, but softened. She allowed herself to wonder, to suspect, that she could live with herself. That she wasn't alone.

Chloe, though, felt nothing for Mireille. Not love, not hate, not even jealousy. Because she knew, she _knew_ that she would be together with Kirika, since the day they first met.

But then, not doubt, but a nagging feeling whenever she saw Mireille and Kirika together. That somehow Kirika might not... But that was over. Mireille was dead.

Chloe felt relieved. They would be together, forever. Despite her single-target empathy, she felt happy.

Chloe knew how Kirika felt, or at least, she was about to.

Kirika was shot.

Altena breathed in, her gun trained. This had to happen. Noir's bond must be stronger than any other. And Chloe must understand. There must be no hesitation, no pause, and no remorse.

Altena glared at Chloe. No words were exchanged.

She blinked, and Chloe vanished. Her hand went numb, and she dropped. She looked downward for a moment, just in time to watch Chloe kill her.

Altena's body plummeted into the furnace.

Chloe felt a shard of guilt as she comforted Kirika. Chloe was all Kirika had left, and vice versa.

Chloe choked on her words as she spoke.

"I love you."

For a minute, Kirika thought. Chloe stopped Kirika, looked at her expectantly. Chloe brought her fingers to Kirika's eyes.

She felt Chloe's arms encircle her, and heard whispers into her ear.

Kirika returned the embrace.

Kirika's vision faded. She heard crying, screaming, shouts of anger, of desperation, all things she'd never heard in Chloe's voice before, sounds she didn't like. Kirika couldn't understand what was going on.

Then a gunshot.

A/N: I thought up this fanfiction when I first saw Noir back in 2009, but had a hard time getting it just right. Additionally I read a fanfiction remarkably similar by another author, with a key difference. First, they had Chloe kill Mireille, then Kirika kill Altena in revenge. To me, this ran counter to everything I wanted in a Chloe/Kirika pairing. Chloe hated Mireille (ultimately) and Kirika had her memories of Altena erased. There's no drama, no meaning behind these two assassins killing people they have no feelings about, considering they'd been doing that for 24 episodes already. What's more, building resentment between them only drives them apart. I like the pairing, so I find it necessary for their anger and resentment to be towards themselves rather than each other. That at least has a chance to bring them together.

Anyway, since it was so long ago that I saw Noir, plus how much I hated El Cazador de la Bruja, this is going to be a one-shot, though there's some chance of a Madlax fanfiction, assuming that I end up liking the rest of Madlax. But, ah, don't expect many girls with guns from me.


End file.
